recently published articles in process thought...
2007
Amesbury, Richard and Wainwright, William J. "Rethinking Philosophy of Religion: a Dialogue." American Journal of Theology & Philosophy 28, no. 2 (May 2007): 226-26.
Bracken, Joseph A., S.J. "Of Particles and Fields." Theology and Science 5, no. 1 (2007): 47-56.
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In The Cosmic Blueprint 1, Paul Davies takes note of the unresolved philosophical issues involved in the use of "field" imagery within evolutionary biology and quantum physics. The author proposes that the metaphysical scheme of Alfred North Whitehead with its notion of "actual occasions" might be key to solving these mysteries, but only if Whiteheadian "societies" were reinterpreted as enduring structured fields of activity for the ongoing succession of their constituent actual occasions. For, implicit in this revised understanding of Whiteheadian societies is a new paradigm for the philosophical relation between the One and the Many, which would allow for genuine top-down as well as bottom-up causation in the emergence of new forms or structures within the evolutionary process.
__________. "Space and Time from a Neo-Whiteheadian Perspective." Zygon 42 no. 1 (March 2007): 41-47.
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Russell Stannard distinguishes between objective time as measured in theoretical physics and subjective time, or time as experienced by human beings in normal consciousness. Because objective time, or four-dimensional space-time for the physicist, does not change but exists all at once, Stannard argues that this is presumably how God views time from eternity which is beyond time. We human beings are limited to experiencing the moments of time successively and thus cannot know the future as already existing in the same way that God does. I argue that Stannard is basically correct in his theological assumptions about God's understanding of time but that his explanation would be more persuasive within the context of a neo-Whiteheadian metaphysics. The key points in that metaphysics are (1) that creation is contained within the structured field of activity proper to the three divine persons of the Christian doctrine of the Trinity and (2) that the spontaneous decisions of creatures are continually ordered and reordered into an ever-expanding totality already known in its fullness by the divine persons.
Braxton, Donald M. “'Religion Is Not About God'--Responding to Loyal Rue: Religious Naturalism and the Future of Christianity. ”Zygon: Journal of Religion & Science 42, no. 2 (June 2007): 317-41.
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Loyal Rue suggests that religion is not about God as such but about the cultivation of personal and social well-being. Religion may employ cultural resources that included concepts of supernatural agencies, but religion's essential functionalities are not dependent on that particular resource. I largely endorse Rue's view of religion and employ Rue as a guide to thinking through its consequences for the future of Christianity. For Rue, two challenges face Christianity: the erosion of confidence in personal-god concepts and the ecological crisis engulfing the planet. In the face of these twin momentous changes, I suggest ways in which certain cultural tropes in the Christian matrix will rise to the fore and others will erode.
Bugbee, John. "The Consequences of Metaphysics: or, Can Charles Peirce's Continuity Theory Model Stuart Kauffman's Biology?" Zygon 42 no. 1 (March 2007): 203-221.
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Stuart Kauffman's proposal in Investigations to ground a "general biology" in the laws of self-organization governing systems of autonomous agents runs up against the methodological problem of how to integrate formal mathematical with semantic and semiotic approaches to the study of evolutionary development. Gilles Deleuze's concept of the virtual and C. S. Peirce's system of existential graphs provide a theoretical framework and practical art for answering this problem of method by modeling the creative event of collective self-organization as both represented and practiced in the scientific community.
Clayton, Philip. "In Memoriam: Arthur Peacocke (1924-2006)." Theology and Science 5, no. 1 (2007): 1-3.
Cobb, John B., Jr. “Person-in-Community: Whiteheadian Insights into Community and Institution.” Organization Studies 28, no. 4 (2007): 567-88.
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The philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead differs from most of those that have been influential in the West in its emphasis on process and on internal relations instead of substances and their external relations. For human beings this supports a model of person-in-community instead of the widely influential and highly individualistic and substantialist model of Homo economicus. Communities are societies that are held together by internal relations. The importance of community is widely recognized in organizational studies, but most business decisions are informed chiefly but the substantialist thinking expressed in Homo economicus. To endure and prospers, communities need institutional structures, but these should serve community.
__________. “The Limitations of Neo-Darwinism and Evidence for a Whiteheadian Theory of Evolution.” Worldviews 11 (2007): 32-43.
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The dominant neo-Darwinian theory of evolution locates the causes of evolutionary change in the random mutation of genes and in the environment. The animal organisms are viewe as passive in this process. However, there is a great deal of evidence that animal activity plays a large role in evolution. Some of this, no doubt, is random or even mechanically determined. However, there are good reasons to think that some of it is porposice and intelligent. Animals repeat successful actions and learn them from other members of the species. These actions many prove beneficial for surbibal' so genes that facilitate them are naturally selected. Animal action also changes the environment. Including human beings in an evolutionary development that is partly determined by intelligent and purposive behavior does not have the reductionistic and nihilistic implications of currently standard teaching about evolution.
Cuff, Joyce M. "C. S. Peirce, G. W. F. Hegel, and Stuart Kauffman's Complexity Theory: A Response." Zygon 42, no. 1 (March 2007): 249-255.
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Stuart Kauffman's work on complexity and self-organization echoes ideas found in writings of C. S. Peirce and G. W. F. Hegel. Included in these common threads are the understanding of science as historical narrative, the recognition of emergence as a phenomenon associated with complex systems, and the appreciation of agency as an emergent property that serves as both a creative and determining force in evolution.
Dombrowski, Daniel. “Rorty Versus Hartshorne, or, Poetry Versus Metaphysics.” Metaphilosophy 38, no. 1 (January 2007): 88-110.
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The purpose of this article is to explore the relationship between the thought of Richard Rorty and that of his former teacher, Charles Hartshorne. There are important similarities between the two, but ultimately the differences are more readily apparent, especially in terms of the battle between poetry (in the wide sense of the term conceived by Rorty) and (Hartshornean) metaphysics. Hartshorne is defended against Rorty.
Edelstein, Amy. "A God-Shaped Hole at the Heart of Our Being: An Interview with Evolutionary Theologian John H. Haught." What is Enlightenment? 35 (January-March 2007): 103-107.
Fraser, Chris. "On Wu-wei as a Unifying Metaphor." Review of Effortless Action: Wu-wei as Conceptual Metaphor and Spiritual Ideal in Early China by Slingerland, Edward. Philosophy East & West 57, no. 1 (January 2007): 97-106.
Gangle, Rocco. "Collective Self-Organization in General Biology: Gilles Deleuze, Charles, Peirce, and Stuart Kauffman." Zygon 42, no. 1 (March 2007): 223-239.
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Stuart Kauffman's proposal in Investigations to ground a "general biology" in the laws of self-organization governing systems of autonomous agents runs up against the methodological problem of how to integrate formal mathematical with semantic and semiotic approaches to the study of evolutionary development. Gilles Deleuze's concept of the virtual and C. S. Peirce's system of existential graphs provide a theoretical framework and practical art for answering this problem of method by modeling the creative event of collective self-organization as both represented and practiced in the scientific community.
Gier, Nicholas and Johnson Petta. “Hebrew and Buddhist Selves: A Constructive Postmodern Study.” Asian Philosophy 17, no. 1 (March 2007): 47-64.
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Our task will be to demonstrate that there are instructive parallels between Hebrew and Buddhist concepts of self. There are at least five main constituents (skandhas in Sanskrit) of Hebrew self: (1) nepes as living being; (2) ruah as indwelling spirit; (3) leb as heart-mind; (4) basar as flesh; and (5) dam as blood. We will compare these with the five Buddhist skandahs: disposition (samskara), consciousness (vijnana), feeling (bedana), perception (Samjna), and body (rupa). Generally, what we will discover is that both Buddhists and Hebrews have a 'bundle' theory of the self: both see the body as an essential part of personal identity; both overcome that modernist distinction of the inner and the outer; and both avoid language about the will as a distinct faculty. In sum, both present us with a fully somatic and nondualistic view of being human.
Graves, Mark. "Peircean Approaches to Emergent Systems in Cognitive Science and Religion." Zygon 42, no. 1 (March 2007): 241-248.
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Cognitive science and religion provides perspectives on human cognition and spirituality. Emergent systems theory captures the subatomic, physical, biological, psychological, cultural, and transcendent relationships that constitute the human person. C. S. Peirce's metaphysical categories and existential graphs enrich traditional cognitive science modeling tools to capture emergent phenomena. From this richer perspective, one can reinterpret the traditional doctrine of soul as form of the body in terms of information as the constellation of constitutive relationships that enables real possibility.
Gregersen, Niels Henrik. "Arthur Peacocke in memoriam (1924-2006)." Theology and Science 5, no. 1 (2007): 5-7.
Hammer, Taylor. "The Role of Ontology in the Philosophy of Gilles Deleuze." The Southern Journal of Philosophy XLV, no. 1 (2007): 57-77.
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This essay discusses the role of being and ontology in the work of Gilles Deleuze. Starting from an examination of Alain Badiou's ontology and theory of the event, I discuss the possible opposition of being and the event in Deleuze's work. Though famous for his discussion of the univocity of being, Deleuze does discuss the event as that which is not being. Deleuze's theory of the event is similar to that of Badiou in that he considers the event to be extra-ontological. The essay closes by considering the difference between Deleuze and Badiou on the subject of the event.
Haught, John F. “Darwin and Contemporary Theology.” Worldviews 11 (2007): 44-57.
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Darwin's "dangerous idea" challenges religious trust in a providential God, that is, one who influences and eternally cares for the world. Our religious ancestors had do knowledge of biological evolution, although they were certainly aware of the suffering of humans and other living beings. Evolutionary science vastly extends the story of life and life's suffering (and creativity as well) beyond those of traditional theological awareness. In what sense, then, after Darwin, might the doctrine of divine providence still be credible, if at all? Is it perhaps possible that evolutionary portraits of life may open up fresh ways of thinking about divine providence?
Huston, Tom. "A Brief History of Evolutionary Spirituality." What is Enlightenment? 35 (January-March 2007): 76-84.
Marsh, Leslie. “Taking the Super Out of the Supernatural.” Zygon: Journal of Religion & Science 42, no. 2 (June 2007): 343-56.
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Metaphysical dualities divorce humankind from its natural environment, dualities that can precipitate environmental disaster. Loyal Rue in Religion Is Not About God (2005) seeks to resolve the abstract modalities of religion and naturalism in a unified monistic ecocentric metaphysic characterized as religious naturalism. Rue puts forward proposals for a general naturalistic theory of religion, a theory that lays bare the structural and functional features of religious phenomena as the critical first step on the road to badly needed religion-science realignment. Only then will humanity be equipped to address the environmental imperative.
Mortensen, Chris. "In Defense of Dharmakirti - A Response to Tanaka." Philosophy East and West 57, no. 2 (April 2007): 253-256.
Nobuhara, Tokiyuki. "Buddhist-Christian Pedagogy: A Process View." Bulletin of KeiwaCollege 16 (February 2007): 1-15.
Patalon, Rev. Dr. hab Miroslaw. "Theologies of John B. Cobb and Waclaw Hryniewicz: Points of Convergence." Journal of European Baptist Studies 7, no. 3 (May 2007): 16-24.
Sansbury, Timothy. "The False Promise of Quantum Mechanics." Zygon 42, no. 1 (March 2007): 111-121.
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The causal indeterminacy suggested by quantum mechanics has led to its being the centerpiece of several proposals for divine action that does not contradict natural laws. However, even if the theoretical concerns about the reality of causal indeterminacy are ignored, quantum-level divine action fails to resolve the problem of ongoing, responsive divine activity. This is because most quantum-level actions require a significant period of time in order to reach macroscopic levels whether via chaotic amplification or complete divine control of quantum events. Therefore, quantum-level divine action either requires divine foreknowledge of purportedly free or random events or imposes such limitations on divine actions that they become late, potentially impotent, and confused. I argue that the theological problem of divine action remains; even at its most promising, quantum mechanics offers insufficient resolution. This failure suggests a reexamination of the assumptions that God is temporal and lacks foreknowledge of future contingencies.
Sequeiros, Leandro. "Cuando Hablamos de 'Evolucion Biologica', De Que Evolucion Estamos Hablando?" Proyeccion: Teologia y Mundo Actual 224 (March 2007): 29-47.
Tanaka, Koji. "Dharmakirti and Priest on an Inconsistent Theory of Change - A Comment to Mortensen." Philosophy East and West 57, no. 2 (April 2007): 244-252.
__________. "In Defense of Priest: A Reply to Mortensen." Philosophy East and West 57, no. 2 (April 2007): 257-259.
Wang, Robin R. Review of Leibniz and China: A Commerce of Light by Perkins, Franklin. Philosophy East & West 57, no.1 (January 2007): 111-114.
Various: Editors of WIE "The Real Evolution Debate." What is Enlightenment? 35 (January-March 2007): 86-100.
